Sliding Fastener

ABSTRACT

There is provided a slide fastener. A pair of fastener tapes are made by weaving. A pair of fastener element rows are respectively provided on opposing tape side edge portions of the pair of fastener tapes. Each of the pair of fastener element rows has a plurality of fastener elements. A slider is configured to engage and disengage the pair of fastener element rows. End stops are respectively provided on end portions of the pair of fastener element rows to stop movement of the slider. Stripe patterns are respectively formed along a longitudinal direction of the fastener tapes in the tape side edge portions at the outer side of the end stops in the longitudinal direction of the fastener tapes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a slide fastener.

BACKGROUND ART

It is known in a slide fastener of the related art, multi-color strings which are sequentially colored with several colors such as rainbow colors are woven or knitted into a tape side edge portion of a fastener tape, thereby forming an swelled core portion and a colorful decoration portion (e.g. Patent Document 1).

PRIOR ART DOCUMENT Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-070007A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Problems to be Solved by Invention

However, the slide fastener as described in Patent Document 1 does not consider the aesthetic appearance of the tape side edge portions of the fastener tapes at the outer side of the end stops in the tape longitudinal direction.

The present invention has been made keeping in mind the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a slide fastener capable of improving the aesthetic appearance of tape side edge portions of fastener tapes at the outer side of end stops in a tape longitudinal direction.

Means for Solving Problems

The object of the present invention is achieved by the following configurations.

(1) A slide fastener including a pair of fastener tapes made by weaving; a pair of fastener element rows respectively provided on opposing tape side edge portions of the pair of fastener tapes, the pair of fastener element rows each having a plurality of fastener elements; a slider configured to engage and disengage the pair of fastener element rows; and end stops respectively provided on end portions of the pair of fastener element rows to stop movement of the slider, wherein stripe patterns are respectively formed along a longitudinal direction of the fastener tapes in the tape side edge portions at the outer side of the end stops in the longitudinal direction of the fastener tapes.

(2) The slide fastener according to (1), wherein the fastener tapes are made by weaving of warp threads and weft threads and core strings which are thicker than the warp threads are woven into the tape side edge portions, and wherein the stripe patterns are formed by a weaving texture of the weft threads and the core strings.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the slide fastener of the present invention, since the stripe patterns are formed along the tape longitudinal direction in the tape side edge portions at the outer side of the end stops in the longitudinal direction of the fastener tapes, it is possible to improve the aesthetic appearance of the tape side edge portions at the outer side of the end stops in the tape longitudinal direction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating an embodiment of a slide fastener according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing weaving composition of one tape side edge portion of the fastener tape shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing weaving composition of one tape side edge portion of the fastener tape shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating a first modified embodiment of the slide fastener according to the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating a second modified embodiment of the slide fastener according to the present invention.

EMBODIMENTS OF INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of a slide fastener according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, as for fastener tapes, a front side refers to a near side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1 (an upper side of a slider which will be described later, at which a pull tab is provided), a back side refers to a far side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1 (a lower side of the slider which will be described later, at which no pull tab is provided), an upper side refers to an upper side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1 (a side to which the slider is moved so as to engage fastener element rows which will be described later), a lower side refers to a lower side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1 (a side to which the slider is moved so as to disengage the fastener element rows which will be described later), a left side refers to a left side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1, and a right side refers to a right side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1. As for the slider, an upper side refers to a near side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1, a lower side refers to a far side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1, a front side refers to an upper side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1, a rear side refers to a lower side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1, a left side refers to a left side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1, and a right side refers to a right side with respect to the paper surface of FIG. 1. In addition, the right and left direction of the fastener tapes and the slider is also referred to as a width direction. The upward and downward direction of the fastener tapes is also referred to as a longitudinal direction. A tape longitudinal direction refers to the longitudinal direction of the fastener tapes, and the tape width direction refers to the width direction of the fastener tapes.

As shown in FIG. 1, the slide fastener 10 according to this embodiment includes a pair of right and left fastener tapes 20 which are made by weaving, a pair of right and left fastener element rows 30 which are respectively provided on opposing tape side edge portions 20 a of the pair of right and left fastener tapes 20, the pair of right and left fastener element rows 30 each of which has a plurality of fastener elements 31, a slider 40 which is configured to engage and disengage the right and left fastener element rows 30, top end stops 11 which are respectively provided adjacent to the upper end portions of the right and left fastener element rows 30, and a bottom end stop 12 which is provided adjacent to the lower end portions of the right and left fastener element rows 30. When the slider 40 is moved upward by operating a pull tab 41, the right and left fastener element rows 30 are engaged with each other. When the slider 40 is moved downward by operating a pull tab 41, right and left fastener element rows 30 are disengaged from each other.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fastener tapes 20 are made by weaving of warp threads 21 and weft threads 22 each of which is constituted by a multifilament thread of a polyester or polyamide fiber. The fineness of the warp threads 21 and the weft threads 22 is 330 dTex. Core strings 23 a and 23 b are respectively woven into the tape side edge portions 20 a of the fastener tape 20 at both sides in the front-back direction. The core strings 23 a and 23 b are arranged adjacent to the warp threads 21 in the tape width direction, and are thicker than the warp threads 21. Each of the core strings 23 a and 23 b is constituted by three multifilament threads of 560 dTex as a core material and knitting yarns of 267 dTex which cover around the core material.

Stripe patterns S are respectively formed along the tape longitudinal direction in the tape side edge portions 20 a at portions above the top end stops 11 and at portions below the bottom end stop 12. Each of the stripe patterns S is formed of the weft threads 22 and the core string 23 a which is arranged at the front side. The stripe pattern S is formed by the difference in colors of the weft threads 22 and the core string 23 a. The core string 23 a is disposed so as to be raised from the front surface of the fastener tape 20 toward the front side of the fastener tape 20. The core string 23 b is disposed so as to be raised from the back surface of the fastener tape 20 toward the back side of the fastener tape 20. Although the stripe patterns S are formed of the weft threads 22 and the core strings 23 a in this embodiment, the stripe patterns S may be formed of the warp threads 21 and the weft threads 22. As for the colors of the core string 23 a and the weft threads 22, if the core string 23 a has a light color such as white, the weft threads 22 may have a dark color such as brown or dark blue. It is preferred that the colors of the warp threads 21 be the same as the color of the core string 23 a. Consequently, if the color of the core string 23 a is white, the colors of the warp threads 21 should be white. The colors of the warp threads 21 are not limited to the same color as the core string 23 a, but the colors of the warp threads 21 can be the same as the colors of the weft threads 22 or can be different from the color of the core string 23 a and the colors of the weft threads 22.

According to this embodiment, in order to form a favorable stripe pattern S, as shown in FIG. 2, the core string 23 a which is disposed at the front side is woven so as to cross over three weft threads 22 (in this embodiment, two weft threads are bundled and counted as one) and then pass under one weft thread 22. The core string 23 b which is disposed at the back side is woven so as to cross over one weft thread 22 and then pass under three weft threads 22. The warp threads 21 are woven so as to cross over two weft threads 22 and then pass under two weft threads 22. Consequently, since the number of the weft threads 22 which the core strings 23 a and 23 b cross over (the core string 23 b passes under the weft threads 22 when viewed from the front side of the tape) is more than the number of the weft threads 22 which the warp threads 21 cross over, the core strings 23 a and 23 b are exposed to a large extent, thereby forming a favorable stripe patterns S. The number of the weft threads 22 which the core strings 23 a cross over (pass under) can be any number, and is preferably 2 or more. The method of weaving the warp threads 21 as described above is intended for use in the warp threads 21 adjacent to the core strings 23 a and 23 b, and any other methods of weaving may be used for the other warp threads 21. The stripe patterns may be formed by making the colors of the warp threads 21 different from the colors of the weft thread 22. Such stripe patterns may collaborate with the above-described stripe patterns S. In addition, since the stripe patterns S are formed of the weft threads 22 and the core string 23 a having different colors along the tape side edge portions 20 a, the colors of the weft threads 22 or the color of the core string 23 a is exposed through between the plurality of fastener elements 31 which are attached along the tape side edge portions 20 a. Furthermore, it is possible to make the color exposed through between the plurality of fastener elements 31 uniform in the colors of the weft threads 22 or the color of the core string 23 a by adjusting at least one of the intervals of the stripe patterns S and the intervals of the plurality of fastener elements 31.

As described above, according to the slide fastener 10 of this embodiment, since the stripe patterns S are formed along the tape longitudinal direction in the tape side edge portions 20 a at portions above the top end stops 11 and at portions below the bottom end stop 12, it is possible to improve the aesthetic appearance of the tape side edge portions 20 a at the outer side of the top end stops 11 and the bottom end stop 12 in the tape longitudinal direction.

According to the slide fastener 10 of this embodiment, since the stripe patterns S are formed by the weaving texture of the weft threads 22 and the core strings 23 a which is disposed at the front side, it is possible to reduce the number of coloring processes as compared with the case in which stripe patterns are given by coloring the core strings 23 a. Consequently, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the slide fastener 10.

As a first modified embodiment of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a separable end stop 50 comprised of a box pin 51, a box body 52 and an insert pin 53 may be used in place of the bottom end stop 12. In this case, the stripe patterns S are formed in the tape side edge portions 20 a only at portions above the top end stops 11.

As a second modified embodiment of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the pair of right and left fastener element rows 30 may be made of metal, and first and second sliders 40 a and 40 b may engage and disengage the pair of right and left fastener element rows 30. The first slider 40 a is disposed at the upper side of the slide fastener 10 and the second slider 40 b is disposed at the lower side of the slide fastener 10 such that rear sides of the first and second sliders 40 a and 40 b face each other. In addition, the right and left fastener element rows 30 are engaged with each other when the first slider 40 a is moved upward of the slide fastener 10 and are disengaged from each other when the first slider 40 a is moved downward of the slide fastener 10. In addition, the right and left fastener element rows 30 are disengaged from each other when the second slider 40 b is moved upward of the slide fastener 10 and are engaged with each other when the second slider 40 b is moved downward of the slide fastener 10. In addition, the slide fastener 10 of this modified embodiment has top end stops 11 which are respectively arranged adjacent to the upper end portions of the right and left fastener element rows 30 and bottom end stops 12 which are respectively arranged adjacent to the lower end portions of the right and left fastener element rows 30. In addition, the stripe patterns S are respectively formed along the tape longitudinal direction in the tape side edge portions 20 a at portions above the top end stops 11 and at portions below the bottom end stops 12. The front and rear of the second slider 40 b and the right and left of the second slider 40 b are opposite to the front and rear of the first slider 40 a and the right and left of the the first slider 40 a.

The present invention is not limited to those that were illustrated in the foregoing embodiments but can be suitably changed without departing from the technical concept of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

10 Slide Fastener

11 Top End Stop

12 Bottom End Stop

20 Fastener Tape

20 a Tape Side Edge Portions

21 Warp Thread

22 Weft Thread

23 a Core String

23 b Core String

30 Fastener Element Row

31 Fastener Element

40 Slider

S Stripe Pattern 

1. A slide fastener comprising: a pair of fastener tapes made by weaving; a pair of fastener element rows respectively provided on opposing tape side edge portions of the pair of fastener tapes, the pair of fastener element rows each having a plurality of fastener elements; a slider configured to engage and disengage the pair of fastener element rows; and end stops respectively provided on end portions of the pair of fastener element rows to stop movement of the slider, wherein stripe patterns are respectively formed along a longitudinal direction of the fastener tapes in the tape side edge portions at the outer side of the end stops in the longitudinal direction of the fastener tapes.
 2. The slide fastener according to claim 1, wherein the fastener tapes are made by weaving of warp threads and weft threads and core strings which are thicker than the warp threads are woven into the tape side edge portions, and wherein the stripe patterns are formed by a weaving texture of the weft threads and the core strings. 